Mariano Rivera tears achilles during Yankees Old-Timers' Day game
Agent Fern Cuza said the 55-year-old closer, baseball's career leader in saves, will have the operation within a week.
In his lone at-bat, Rivera singled off former teammate Andy Pettitte and easily ran to first base. During an at-bat by Willie Randolph, Rivera took a step and fell to the ground in shallow center field behind second base.
The Yankees restored the Old-Timers' Day game for the first time since 2019.
'It was a fun day until we heard about Mariano. Mariano hurt his achilles,' seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens told WFAN broadcaster Suzyn Waldman. 'I don't know what was going on. We all thought it was a hamstring, but I think it's a little worse than that. I think he's at the hospital now. Unbelievable.'
Rivera was the second player to get hurt in the event since 2017. Eight years ago, former outfielder and current YES Network analyst Paul O'Neill strained a calf running to first base.
Rivera tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in May 2012 while shagging fly balls in batting practice in Kansas City. He returned for his final season in 2013 and finished as baseball's career saves leader with 652 and posted 42 postseason saves.
In 2019, the 13-time All-Star became the first player unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame by getting all 425 votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants.
Rivera took part in the Old-Timers' Game, played before the Yankees beat the Houston Astros 5-4, for the second time. He hit an inside-the-park homer in 2019.
The event commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 2000 championship team, the last team to win three straight World Series titles. Clemens was a first-time attendee at the event, which had captain Derek Jeter give a short video message when he was introduced following Rivera.
Before the event, Rivera said he intended to speak with struggling reliever Devin Williams, who allowed three runs in the 10th inning Friday. He has allowed nine runs in his last five appearances and 28 earned runs this year, two more than 2022-24 combined.
'Can't do nothing about it,' Rivera said Saturday morning. 'Once it's done, it's done. Just learn from it, move on and be confident. You have to be confident in yourself. If you're not confident in yourself, you're playing the wrong sport.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 minutes ago
- Reuters
Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann set for LIV title showdown
August 13 - By Field Level Media Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm will go head-to-head this weekend for the LIV Golf individual title at the regular-season finale, LIV Golf Indianapolis, and both said Wednesday they are ready for the next round of their respectful rivalry. Niemann enters the 54-hole tournament with a lead of 12.27 points. Thanks to LIV's well-explained scoring system, Rahm knows exactly what he must do to overtake Niemann and defend his individual championship. Rahm took home a bonus of $18 million last year with his season win. Niemann (Torque GC captain) and Rahm (Legion XIII captain) are the only players still in the running for the individual championship. Niemann will win the title with a finish of first or second at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind. If Rahm wins the tournament, he still needs Niemann to finish third or worse to earn the championship again. "He's a fantastic competitor, fantastic golfer, great person as well," Rahm said. "It's a lot of fun to share the stage with him. "He's obviously been playing great golf, and even though I was able to get the best of him last year, he certainly made the job hard this year." LIV has a half-dozen other scenarios drawn out to determine who wins the individual crown depending on other finishing places. Winning the Indianapolis event would remove the need for any calculations for Niemann, a 26-year-old from Chile who has won five times to set a LIV single-season record. He attributes his success, in part, to his frequent pairings with Rahm. "It's been a lot of growing in my game. I feel like playing against Jon -- I've been playing with him for probably 60, 70 percent of my pairings this year (and) he's a great competitor," Niemann said. "He's always there. He never gives a shot away. It's fun to play with someone that pushes you to be better and to go back home and try to get better and come back here and try to beat him." Rahm, 30, hasn't been in the individual winner's circle this season but the native of Spain finds himself in contention on the final weekend because of his consistency. He has three runner-ups and just one finish outside the Top 10 - a T11 in Dallas. He lost to Dean Burmester in a playoff last Sunday at LIV Golf Chicago. "I feel like in a weird way, it should be more one-sided with what he was able to do, with how many wins he's had this year," Rahm said. "I guess consistency can pay off, but man, winning five times anywhere, anytime is incredible. My hat's off to him to what he's been able to do. Hopefully I can get the job done this week and pull off the upset. Rahm said he likes being paired with Niemann. "It's somebody that's a lot of fun to play with," he said. "I think both of us being Spanish speakers, it's just a little level of comfort that we have and just admire his game as well. It's just fun to watch him play golf." According to LIV Golf, Niemann has a 58.7 percent chance of winning the title, leaving Rahm with a 41.3 percent chance. Niemann isn't playing the odds. Just his game. "You've just got to worry about what you can control. There's nothing else you can worry about," he said. "I feel like the process you have through your shot, the routine that you have through the week, and at the end of the day, there is not much you can do. You can't force a result. You can't. We all know that. "I feel like it's no more than that." Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers GC captain) enters the weekend with a grip on third place -- he's 55-plus points behind Rahm -- but doesn't have a mathematical grip on the spot or the bonus money that comes with it. He's become a fan of the Niemann-Rahm competition week in and week out. "It's really impressive. The level of competition they bring to LIV is out of control. It makes it almost impossible for some guys," said DeChambeau, 31, who has two career LIV individual wins. "So that's what we need. We need continued push by those guys at the top to showcase what the best in the world look like, and couldn't be more proud of those individuals for leading the way in that regard, and hopefully I can be at the top next year and give myself a chance. "But what they're doing is great for LIV, it's great for golf, and honestly, I think whoever wins ... it's going to be an awesome feat and historical year for either one of those individuals."
BreakingNews.ie
4 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Rory McIlroy: I don't think it's possible to be a playing Ryder Cup captain
Masters champion Rory McIlroy revealed he has already 'shot down' the prospect of becoming a playing Ryder Cup captain in the future. Europe's leading points scorer in their victory in Rome two years ago said the idea had already been raised with him but he rejected it out of hand. Advertisement McIlroy, aged 36 and currently world number two, has plenty of time left at the top as a player, but it is a dilemma facing United States captain Keegan Bradley, whose form this year has elevated him to 12th in the world and 10th on America's qualification list. United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (Brian Lawless/PA). 'I've been asked to do that and I've turned it down,' said McIlroy, who was the first player to automatically qualify for Europe's team for next month's event at Bethpage in New York. 'The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up and I've shot it down straight away because I don't think you can do it. 'If you'd have said it 20 years ago I'd say it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle it is and everything that's on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in. Advertisement 'There's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big. 'The captain's only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well?' On Thursday McIlroy will tee off alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler in the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club outside Baltimore. The Northern Irishman opted to skip the opening event of the FedEx Cup as he knew he was already guaranteed a spot in the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship next week, and that drew some criticism. Advertisement However, McIlroy argued his year is far from over as, in addition to the Ryder Cup, he will head back to the DP World Tour for a number of events, including the Irish Open and BMW Championship at Wentworth, before trying to win his seventh Race to Dubai title in November. 'A lot of the guys aren't 18 years into their professional career. I feel like I'm in a little bit of a different position,' he added. 'I'm playing nine times between now and the end of the year, so I've still got a pretty busy stretch coming up and I just think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up.'
BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
McIlroy 'shot down' role of Ryder Cup playing captain
Rory McIlroy said he rejected the idea of being a playing captain at a future Ryder Cup "straight away" as he believes it "would be very difficult to do".The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland will again spearhead the European challenge at this year's event which will be staged at Bethpage Black in New York on 26-28 number 12 Keegan Bradley was picked to captain the United States in July 2024 after 15-time major champion Tiger Woods turned down the role. But after a strong run of form in 2025 including nine top-20 finishes, the 2011 US PGA champion is 10th in the American rankings for a team that will be made up of six automatic qualifiers and six wildcards. McIlroy does not believe it is possible to combine the roles of player and captain, and speaking before the start of the BMW Championship in Maryland on Thursday, the Masters champion revealed he had turned down the chance to do so "sometime soon".The 2027 Ryder Cup will be held at Adare Manor in the Republic of Ireland. "I've been asked to do that and I've turned it down. The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up and I've shot it down straight away," he said."I don't think you can do it." 'He's one of the 12 best American players right now' There has not been a playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer for a victorious American side in thinks the growth of the event in the decades since means it "would be a very difficult position to be in"."There's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big," he said."The captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so the captain is only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you not rather have the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? There's just a lot of different things that go into it."That's why, and it's just my opinion, I think it would be very difficult to do."McIlroy played with Bradley for the first two rounds of the Travelers Championship in June, a signature event on the PGA Tour that the American won by a stroke over Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley."I definitely think he's one of the 12 best American players right now," McIlroy added."That's why everyone is so interested and it's such a compelling case. "I'm just as interested as everyone else to see how it all plays out." 'I think that extra week off will do me good' McIlroy will play with world number one Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship, teeing off at 16:16 BST on event marks McIlroy's first action since finishing in a tie for seventh at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July, after he skipped the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis last week - the opening play-off event of the PGA Tour five-time major winner was criticised by some sections of the media for missing the event, but defended the decision given his schedule for the remainder of the who also noted that other players "aren't 18 years into their professional careers", will play at the Irish Open next month before heading to the DP World India Championship in October and the Australian Open in December."I feel like I'm in sort of a different position to some of the guys. I'm playing nine times between now and the end of the year so I've still got a pretty busy stretch coming up," he said. "I think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up - some big events that are important to me. Irish Open, [the BMW PGA Championship at] Wentworth, obviously the Ryder Cup, and I want to try and win my seventh Race to Dubai."There's some things that are still important to me that I want to go and play in. That was a big part of the reason why I took the week off last week."
